Nut-lock.



PATENTED JULY 7, 1908.

No, 8Q2,-5?'8.

A. B1 BYRKETT.

NUT LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED JUN AHIJAH R. BYRKETT, OF BINGEN, WASHINGTOW.

NUT-LO CK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July '7, 1908.

Application filed June 22, 1906. Serial No. 322,893.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AHIJAH R. BYnKn'r'r,

a citizen 'of the United States, residing at Bingen, in the county ofKlickitat and State of ashington, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Nut-Locks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to nut locks, and has for its object to provide asimple, cheap, and effective lock which can be readily applied and used,and which allows of the nut being tightened at intervals; and to theseends my invention consists in a nut lock having the general features ofconstruction and arrangement of parts, cooperating togethersubstantially in the manner set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is an inner-side View of a nut, and a cross section of aportion of a bolt showing the nut lock in locking position; Fig. 2 is asimilar view showing the relative position of the parts as the nut isbeing tightened; Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a modifiedconstruction of the locking key; Fig. 3- is a detail of a spring wedge;Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing another modification of theinvention; Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional details showing different formsof locking keys.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated apreferred embodimentof my invention showing some variations in the details of construction,sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to understand the generalprinciples of construction and mode of operation of the device, and itwill be understood that I do not herein limit myself to the precisedetails shown and described, as

they may be varied by those skilled in the art to adapt'my invention tovarious conditions and to meet various requirements, without departingfrom the general principles thereof.

In the drawings, I have shown a nut of ordinary construction andconfiguration,

and a portion of a bolt, which are typicalonly, and it will beunderstood that my nut lock may be applied to any kind of a nut or boltin connection with which it is capable of being used.

Referring to the drawing, and as a detail description of what is showntherein, A represents the nut, the inner or wearing face of which isprovided with a recess or opening A which, generally speaking, istangentially arranged with relation to the central opening of the nut,in which are the usual internal screw threads. This opening or recessmay be formed in any desired way, and can be molded in forming the nut,or may be out after the nut is formed, and its exactlocation can bevaried. This recess comprises two sides, or side walls, a, a, and thesewalls are at an angle to each other so that the general contour of theopening or recess is preferably V-shaped, and at the inner portion, thewalls are at a slight distance apart, leaving an opening at the bottomof the recess through the thread or threads of the nut.

One of the side walls, as (L, of the tangential recess is preferably atright angles to the edge of the nut adjacent the inner face wherein therecess is formed, while the other wall a is inclined to the edge of thenut, thus making the tangential recess generally in the shape of a rightangle triangle. These side walls are also preferably provided with somemeans by which the locking key can be secured in position, and I. haveshown locking notches a a in the respectivewalls. The

.side wall a is also preferably cut away adjacent the screw threadportion of the nut, as indicated at a, and this portion makes what maybe called a rolling fulcrum for the locking key, the purpose of whichwill appear hereafter.

The locking key which is generally designated as C may be generallydescribed as V- shaped, and as shown comprises two parts which may be defined as the key proper C and the retaining spring C and these partsmay be separate from each other, or may be formed integrally, or thespring arm or part C may be separately made and attached to the keyportion in any well known way, and it is shown in some of the figures ashaving its lower end fitted in a recess in the key portion.

The key proper C is a straight bar and may be of any width or thicknessto properly cooperate with the other parts of the device, and its innerend is made chisel-shape so that it has a cutting surface or edge 0which is adapted to enter into the material of the bolt B. The lockingkey is also provided with some means for securing it in place, and whilethese means may vary, I have shown the key C as provided with alockingprojection 0 and the spring arm or portion 0 is also pro vided with alocking projection 0*, and these projections are adapted to cooperatewith the notches a, a in the side walls of the recess in the nut.

f In Fig. 2 I have shown a slightly different construction in which therocking fulcrum a is made more prominent, and the side wall a is cutaway at its central portion between the notch a and the rocking fulcrum,and the spring arm C is made to abut against a projection a on the wallof the recess.

In Fig. 3 have shown another modification, wherein like parts aresimilarly lettered, but in this case the key and spring C and C areextended outside the surface of the nut, and are each provided with aninwardly projecting lug c, c in the projecting portions, and in thisconstruction I provide a wedge D which may be driven into the lockingkey between the spring and key portion, and be retained by saidprojections, it being understood that the spring portion C will yieldsuificiently to permit the wedge being driven into place, and then willresume the position shown in Fig. 3 so that the lugs will engage thewedge and retain it. In Fig. 3 I have shown a spring portion in the formof a wedge D In Fig. 4 I have shown what is practically a wedge in theform of the bar D, which will engage notches or projections c and c inthe adjacent faces of the key and spring and be retained therein.

The locking key, as above indicated, is preferably provided with what Ihave termed a chisel-form end, and the shape of this may vary. In Figs.5 and 6 I have illustrated two different shapes. In Fig. 5, the cuttingedge 0 is beveled on either side so that the chisel or cutting edgecorresponds practically to the thread on the bolt B, so that its edgesengage the opposite sides of two adjacent threads 6, b. The edge of thekey is preferably a little wider than the intervening groove between thetwo threads so that it will enter the material of the sides of the twoadjacent threads, as well as enter the material of the body of the boltat the bottom of the groove between the threads.

In Fig. 6 the key C is made wider and the chisel-shape edge is wideenough to embrace two threads I), b of the bolt and enter into thematerial of the threads. Of course, this key can be made wider, buthaving shown it so as to engage a plurality of threads, it is not deemednecessary to show other modifications of this particular feature ofconstruction.

Having thus particularly described the various features of constructionillustrated in the drawing, the mode of assembling the parts and theiroperation will be largely understood by what has been stated above. Inapplying the nut to the bolt, it will be understood that it can bescrewed to the position desired, and then the locking key C can beplaced in position in the recess, and forced or driven into lockingposition in any suitable manner. In doing this, it will be observed 1that the chisel or cutting end of the key will l be forced into thematerial of the bolt B to a greater or less extent, and when the lockingkey has reached its final position, the spring arm will cause thelocking projections 0 c to engage the locking notches a a in the wallsof the recess, and the key is then securely locked and will be held withits chisel end in engagement with the threads or body of the bolt. Thelocking key can further be secured in position, and this is speciallydesirable in connection with large nuts, by the use of the wedge D, D orD which can be forced or driven into position, indicated in Figs. 3 and4E, and the parts further secured in place by the wedge engaging theinwardly extending lugs or corresponding notches in the key and spring.hen the parts are thus arranged, it will be observed that any tendencytoward unscrewing the nut will be resisted by the cutting edge of thelocking key, which is embedded in or engages the threads or body of thebolt, and the nut can only be turned in this direction against thisresistance of the material of the bolt, and thus the nut is securelyheld against any tendency to be turned in this direction.

If, perchance, the parts confined by the bolt and nut, or the partsthemselves become loosened, and it is desired to tighten the nut uponthe bolt when the locking key is in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, orany equivalent thereof, it will be observed that the nut can be turnedtoward the left, as viewed in the drawing, and then the key C will rockupon the rolling fulcrum a withdrawing the locking projection c from thelocking notch a and the cutting edge 0 will move out of its position inthe threads or body of the bolt and into the space between them and thesurface of the rolling fulcrum, and thus the cutting edge of the lockingkey will ride or move over the surface of the threads of the bolt untilthe nut has been turned to its tightened position, when the locking keycan again be forced or driven into its locking position and the nutbecome again locked.

It will be observed that in forcing the locking key into the material ofthe bolt, owing to its peculiar shape, it sometimes tends to raise thematerial of the threads slightly above their ordinary contour on thestraight side of the chisel, but when the nut is tightened in the mannerabove described, the internal threads of the nut tend to restore thisupset material to its normal position and cure or fill the cut made bythe key, and thus prevent any permanent injury to the threads of thebolt.

When it is desired to remove the nut, the locking key can first beremoved in any suitable way, and if, for instance, it is used in theform shown in Figs. 3 and 4, it will first be necessary to remove thewedge D, or D, and this can be done, in the form shown in Fig. 3, bybending the projecting end of the spring portion C sufficiently torelieve the wedge from the inwardly extending lugs c, 0

In the form shown in Fig. 4, the end of the wedge D adjacent the key Ccan be forced down the incline below the lug c and then removed. Thespring arm C can then be pressed toward the key C withdrawing thelocking lugs from the locking notches, and the key removed.

In some instances, it is desirable to provide more than one locking keyto each nut, and in Fig. 1, I have shown a plurality of tangentialnotches and keys engaging the opposite sides of the bolt.

I/Vhat I claim is,

1. In a nut lock, a nut having a tangential recess in its inner face,the side walls of the recess being provided with looking notches, and arocking fulcrum.

2. In a nut look, a V-shaped locking key comprising a key portion andspring portion connected together, having locking projections andinwardly extending locking ugs.

3. In a nut lock, the combination with the locking key comprising a keyportion and a spring portion having inwardly extending locking lugs, ofa wedge adapted to engage- 4. In a look nut, the combination with a nuthaving a tangential recess in its inner face, one of the walls of therecess being provided with a rocking fulcrum, ofa locking key having achisel-shaped end fitting said recess and bearing on said rockingfulcrum.

5. In a nut lock, the combination with a nut having a tangential recessin its inner face, one of the walls of which is provided with a lockingnotch and a rocking fulcrum, of a locking key comprisinga key portionand a spring portion connected together and having a locking projectionto engage said locking notch.

In testimony whereof I a'llix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AHIJAH R. BYRKETT.

Witnesses:

FRANK L. FREEMAN, JOHN J. MCCARTHY.

